<p>My youngest son is finally starting to talk about college a little bit. He's taking an SAT prep course which seems to be forcing him to think beyond his golf game and his rock band...at least for a few moments. He is thinking about majoring in math. I suspect he thinks it will be easy, as math is his best subject. He really likes easy ; )</p>
<p>What can he do with a BS in mathematics? He will probably go to our state university (the flagship school if he's very lucky), so we're not talking about an elite math program. Will he end up teaching high school math? Would he be able to get a job in marketing or sales with a BS in math? He's VERY personable...and he comes from a long line of salesmen....so I want that door to be open to him. Should I suggest civil engineering or business instead? </p>
<p>Once he takes his sat next month, we'll know more about his options for schools. I'm suspecting a decent math score...around 700 ish. The verbal will be lower. His gpa should be around 3.6 when he applies. He has some nice ec's...varsity sports, lifeguard job, instrumental music, some volunteer work.</p>
<p>He hasn't even started college yet; it's likely his major will change. If not, then math is a very useful major, and there are a lot of areas he can head into with a BS. He'll have a lot of options no matter what he majors in.</p>
<p>I know three math former majors. One is a university professor, one is a lawyer and one works for microsoft. And of course most high school math teachers were math majors.</p>
<p>Would that it were true that most high school math teachers were math majors. I don't think it is. Getting credentialed teachers with significant substantive college-level math training is hard.</p>
<p>I don't know that an undergraduate math major translates to a specific career path like, say, an accounting major, without further education. But, sure, the skills translate almost anywhere. (And, my impression is that lots of kids who start out as math majors finish as something else.)</p>
<p>You (or he) might take a look at the website for SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Math?). It's got a lot of material about what people do with math. The use of math in everything from finance to computing to data analysis is expanding rapidly.</p>
<p>There is a big difference between high school math and college math. In college, many people who were very good in math in high school encounter what some people call "math without numbers." Rather than solving problems, math at the college level revolves more and more around proving theorems. Not everyone who is good at high school math (including calculus) is good at the more theoretical. I should know -- I was a math major for a while and ended up majoring in economics.</p>
<p>But that is no reason not to start off thinking about majoring in math. As other posters have said, math provides a lot of very useful skills. And the actuarial field is a very well compensated profession, using a lot of math as well as business/economics/finance.</p>
<p>My husband started out as a math major, which segued into engineering. There are great opportunities for anyone in engineering who is personable. They end up being the project managers. Best case- an undergraduate engineering degree and a graduate degree in business. The world's your oyster.</p>
<p>A friend's daughter a number of years back told me she was going to major in math. When I replied that after 3 semesters she would not be seeing any numbers she looked at me as if I had 2 heads. Perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration but not much.</p>
<p>The same can be said about computer science not being about programming.</p>
<p>Both are highly theoretical and not at all what most hs students expect.</p>
<p>BTW, that friend's daughter graduated as a finance major and went on to have a fine career in the pharmaceutical industry.</p>
<p>thats a HUGE exaggeration! we still use 0s, 1s and 2s quite a bit!</p>
<p>op-</p>
<p>i honestly cant think of a more versatile undergraduate degree than math. the siam website (visit the ams website, too... ams.org) has quite a bit of good information on the kinds of careers that math majors pursue. government and the financial services industry are definitely the two biggies, each hiring TONS of math grads every year. i have recently graduated math major friends doing cryptography at the nsa, calculating the producer price index for the treasury, doing traffic flow research, working at microsoft, doing financial analysis on wall street, developing creative accounting solutions for foot locker, performing biostatistical research for a major pharmacutical company, consulting insurance companies, and yes, teaching.</p>
<p>as a math major (who is going to grad school route), my recommendations: take a few semesters of probability and statistics. if youre interested in wall street, take a few classes in accounting and economics (preferably econometrics). and above everything, make sure you have a solid programming background. along with a math degree, these more applicable skills and a good personality tend to result a bit of an undergraduate holy grail.</p>
<p>I totally agree with ericabuckell. A strong math background offers an enormous range of opportunities. I wish my S had many many summers to explore all the possible internships that are offered to him.</p>
<p>If he likes math and is outgoing, maybe he would enjoy economics or business as his major or a double major. Then he could go on to a business career or get an MBA. That friendly, sales-type personality is a wonderful asset in the working world. Does he have any idea what he would like to do for a living?</p>
<p>Dreamer88- if you're math minded son decides to go for business, consider University of Florida. It just received a 50 MILLION dollar donation to it's business school.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for your comments and suggestions. We will certainly check out the articles and sites mentioned. I never realized math opened so many interesting doors. </p>
<p>Thanks wackymom for your kind words about the value of personality in business. I sincerely hope you are right. Our son has LOTS of personality. I think he secretly wants to be a stand up comic. When I say I haven't seen a textbook in three years, I'm not exaggerating. He manages A's and B's (mostly), but is careful not to take classes that cause him to break a sweat....playing dumb whenever an upgrade is suggested. Though we find him charming and truly funny, we worry... Our other kids are very analytical and serious. It's an adjustment as a parent.</p>
<p>Yes doubleplay, UF is looking great these days. It's the hot, hot school in FL. So much so, I'm afraid, that my playful boy may not get in. I'm hoping that the admissions gods smile on him, but we're polishing "plan B." </p>
<p>Many years ago a wise friend chuckled when he met my youngest. "That boy," he said, "will earn more money someday that all of your other kids combined." I laughed hard, as my older kids were/are model students. I wonder though, in our service-oriented economy, is charming personality a vital element of success? My playful boy is banking on it ; )</p>
<p>"I wonder though, in our service-oriented economy, is charming personality a vital element of success? My playful boy is banking on it ; )"</p>
<p>I definitely think so, especially if he employs it to his advantage. By all means, study math, but go into a field where he can parlay his gift (and it is a gift to be taken very, very seriously) into a successful and satisfying career (ie he might not be happy sitting in a little room somewhere crunching data/numbers.)</p>
<p>So here's a question- would you rather have a 1500 SAT, 4.0 GPA with a retiring personality; or have a 1200, 3.0 and exceptional charisma. I'd say both of those people have an equal shot at success.</p>